Lectures
Lectures in St. Andrews are based a lot more on readings and there are less hours of lectures per week. The lectures for my papers/courses that I’m taking are also a lot smaller than back in Auckland.
Assignments
The assignments were one thing I had to get used to. It was quite difficult writing essays and reports, although I had no idea what exactly they were expecting from me. The grading system is also very different here and half the time I don’t even know what my grade means.
Where to study
I personally am not a huge fan of the main library as it is always very busy. But I have found the perfect study spot for me. The King James library (part of St. Mary’s Quad) is amazing. It’s very old and a lot cosier. You can’t eat or talk inside but there is a lovely grass area where you can eat your lunch and take a nice break. But if you want a louder more community feeling to study the main library is a great option and Starbucks, Pret and North Point café also all have free Wi-Fi. The union is another great place to study; you can study in the café, the main bar or Sandy’s bar. Every place offers a different atmosphere and you will definitely find somewhere that suits your study preferences.
Bop
As the only club St. Andrews has is in the university union they also host ‘bops’ every Friday night. These are kind of like school discoes but everyone is tipsy. They always have very fun themes and I went to the boyband vs. girlband, ABBA and Bohemian Rhapsody bop. I also went to the Halloween and Christmas event at the union. I really enjoyed them and the good thing is that as it is a university event you will most likely see someone you know and the ‘bop’ can definitely be enjoyed both sober and tipsy.
Drinking Culture
Leading on from my previous point, I have to talk about the drinking culture in Scotland. People drink a lot here, the drinking age is also 18 but as there are a lot of study abroad students from America they also like to enjoy going out as they can now legally drink here. It can sometimes be quite overwhelming by how much some people drink here but they are also totally cool with you not drinking. Just a warning that some people do really drink as if the world was ending tomorrow.
Traditions – Raisin
St. Andrews university is a very old university and has many old and slightly strange traditions. The one that I got to be part of is Raisin Sunday and Monday. When I first heard what this was I was terrified and very confused. It pretty much consists of older (3rd year) students ‘adopting’ first year students. You become part of a family. As I was an exchange student I also got adopted, my lovely study abroad buddy adopted me and I was part of a lovely small family. The Sunday consisted of meeting at the beach bright and early and taking a vodka shot before doing egg races and then standing in the ocean drinking more alcohol. The day pretty much consisted of us drinking alcohol and going on a crazy scavenger hunt around town.
On the Monday we had to report to my Mum’s house where we got dressed up and then headed to the foam fight. Yes, you heard correctly. Everyone brings some bottles of shaving foam and then it just goes from there.
Accommodation – Cleaning inspections
One thing that I had to get used to were cleaning inspections in my accommodation. These happened once every month and your kitchen, room and bathroom were all checked to see if they were tidy. This could get slightly tedious, especially as for the kitchen you sometimes had to clean up mess that wasn’t even yours.
Exams
As I am writing this I am officially done with exams. I only had two exams this semester which was different to in Auckland where I always had four. I also had a take-home exam which was a very unique experience. Other than that, exams here follow a pretty similar routine to the ones in Auckland. They are two hours long and either at 9:30 or 2:30.
This is my second to last post, and I’ve had so much fun keeping this blog. Please don’t hesitate to contact me at hfre260@aucklanduni.ac.nz
